I don’t see that anyone has yet posted on this topic. My apologies if they have.
Red/gold and red/green fuzzy kiwi fruit have been available for an unknown number of years in Asia. For the first time this year I have seen them for sale in California, Arizona and Missouri. I have seen two different companies selling them as seen on the containers below:
The fruit from both companies tastes and looks very similar. The fruit is very good, somewhere between the flavors of the green and gold fuzzy kiwis that are commonly sold in the US with some of the tartness of the green kiwi fruit and some of the sweetness of the gold kiwi fruit.
I have tasted similar kiwi fruit in Asia and flavors differed somewhat. The Asian fruit was better. I’m not sure whether the American fruits were at their peak.
THose look really cool. I bet they have some extra antioxidants in them. It’s hard to tell if they would be harder to grow than regular fuzzy kiwi.
John S
PDX OR
This variety is ‘Hongyang’. It’s a diploid chinensis with early budbreak, but has done surprisingly well for me in middle Tennessee. It is more prone to late freeze damage than fuzzy kiwi or some of the tetraploid yellow kiwis, which bud out later. I lost my more recent graft this summer, but my original graft in my old orchard is still alive and huge, so I need to get more cuttings this winter. I imported the cuttings in 2007, long before the ban due to PSA.
Flavor is similar to other yellow kiwi, but more sugar and less acid, so it seems much sweeter. I’m not sure if the red inner pericarp really adds any unique flavor.
I’m a bit late to the party on this one, as I didn’t see this post until I decided to post about my recent experience. A few days ago, I saw “Red Kiwi” in a Whole Foods and had to get them. I was expecting the flesh to be red, like watermelon, similar to the “Mighties” lettering at the top of the box.
So, even though I am disappointed in the lack of red, I’m pretty happy with the fruit. It was sweet and flavorful, even though I ate them within a day or two of buying it, not letting it soften. 22 brix.
Most importantly, I didn’t notice any tingle, even though I ate almost a pound of them in one sitting. I wonder if they have been treated somehow to remove whatever causes the unpleasant sensation. Similar to some astringent persimmons. Either way, I’ll probably get more of them, though they are a bit pricier than most kiwi at $5.50 per pound.
These Red Kiwis are the Hongyang variety. The amount of red pigment seems to depend on temperatures during ripening. Cooler temps produce more red. These ripen in October for me, and get very red. I assume these lighter colored fruits were grown in California where it doesn’t get cool enough during ripening. I agree they are very good!
